About Me

I'm a mom of three wonderful children: my princess Safa, my rascal Hamza and my heart baby Bilal. He was born with a congenital heart defect called Tetralogy of Fallot, and with the grace of God has done great since his repair. I have been married to my husband Zakir for 22 years. I work part time as a family physician, running a medical practice with my hubby, and spend lots of great time at home with my kids.

Zakir

My husband, my friend and business partner. We consider ourselves citizens of the world, having lived in many different places including Pakistan, Hawaii, Connecticut and our present home in Alabama. Our latest venture together is the medical practice we run. One of the perks of working together is that we eat lunch together three times a week, albeit boxed meals while sitting at a desk. Couldn't be much better than that!

Safa

Safa

My first born, and probably the easiest of the three, (so far at least), a beautiful child inside and out. Of all her characteristics the one I love and admire the most has to be her sensitivity, compassion and empathy towards others. She is a bright, friendly college sophomore who is both intelligent and fun-loving. Her current interests aside from school include Karate, she is a second degree black belt, and plays the guitar, both acoustic and electric. Although playing the guitar doesn't come naturally to her she does enjoy it, and we are hoping that the determination and tenacity she expresses in other areas of her life will soon rub off onto her guitar playing. She also enjoys debate, and writing poetry.

Hamza

Hamza

He was the youngest child for nearly eight years, and it wasn't easy for him to give up that position. But he is a cool big brother who has taught Bilal 'the ropes', such as how to jump off furniture and how to wield a light saber. Hamza is a bright, energetic young man who needs to be constantly challenged to keep him out of trouble. He is a bit of a math wiz, and can often solve math problems in his head quicker than Safa can with a calculator. He is a third degree black belt holder in Heiwado karate and also loves to be outdoors, riding his bike and playing basketball.

Bilal

Bilal

The baby of the family, he gets away with a lot just by turning on that cute little smile of his. Today he is the picture of health with his rosy cheeks and bright eyes, but it wasn't always that way. Bilal was born with a broken heart, tetralogy of fallot, to be precise, which is a cluster of four unique heart defects. He underwent open heart surgery at the young age of 8 weeks, and made an amazing recovery. The same fighting spirit that helped him heal so rapidly is reflected in his personality. We are constantly challenged to channel and soften that spirit, without crushing it. It is a part of who he is. This summer he celebrated his tenth birthday.

Sammy

Our fifteen year old red tabby, who has a temperament to go with it

Tiny

She was a malnourished ball of fuzz when we adopted her twelve years ago, now she's queen of the castle

Atlas

Our canine furry friend is a six year old Great Pyrenees, who loves the cold weather, and hates water.

Lola

Ms. Lola Cherry Cola is the newest member of the Khan family zoo, a young chinchilla, and Safa's personal pet.

Where this Blog started.......

Saturday, May 16, 2015

We continue to work hard outdoors, beautifying the yard in our home. Most of the front is complete, so we have started work on the back too. Admittedly, this is one part of our home that was slightly neglected, before we moved here. Personally, I never enjoyed working outside as much as I have, since moving here. And Zakir is a great partner to work with, because when the weather is too hot or humid, or when the mosquitos are buzzing and exceptionally vicious, he will either still persuade me to come outside and help him, or do the work himself, regardless of the elements.

Since all the additional sod has been laid in the front yard, we have been trimming the bushes some. The upper corner still looks a bit wild and crazy, but it's a happy crazy, and it has been trimmed a bit more since this photograph was taken.

The rose bushes in the side of our house are thriving.

And in the back, we have a lot of color and fragrance too. In fact, we have been having to trim the honeysuckle to keep it under control, while allowing it to creep the railing also.

The lilies in the back are beautiful.

Mostly what is left includes putting down pine straw and cleaning up the edges. Otherwise, the garden is in good shape!